Flathead Raft Company

Polson, Montana

After a 1993 summer vacation in Crested Butte and Ouray, Colorado (pictures of which you can find in my Flickr archives), I decided that while the scenery was spectacular, Colorado was too crowded and over-run by tourists, visitors, and owners of summer/retirement/ski homes. So I looked elsewhere in the summer of 1994, and was intrigued by a large patch of blue when I looked at a map of Montana. It turned out to be Flathead Lake -- the largest freshwater lake west of the Mississippi River -- and it provided the inspiration for spending a week in the tiny little town of Polson, on the southern shore of the lake.

In 1996 and 1997, I spent two full summers in Polson, and grew quite attached to the town and its surrounding mountains, rivers, and lake. You might also be interested in some of my observations about life in Polson and Montana, which I wrote about in blogs titled The Polson Parade, and Leaving Montana. But then life changed, other things intervened, and I drifted away from Montana altogether.

In the summer of 2010, I had a chance to re-visit Polson, and spend three short days driving around to re-acquaint myself with the area. It's been over a dozen years, so I was expecting some changes ... but in general, the town of about 5,000 people was pretty much the same. My favorite restaurant had closed down, a Mailboxes Etc outlet had been replaced by a video-rental outlet, and the local McDonald's outlet was no longer posting all of the bounced checks from desperate customers on its wall (hey, you've got to be desperate if you order a Big Mac with fries, and pay with a check that bounces!). It looked like some of the local ranchers and farmers had sold off some of their acreage, for there were a few new vacation communities filling up what had been open meadows and pasture just outside of town.

But the lake had not changed at all, and the Mission Mountains along the eastern shore of the lake were as pretty as ever. Just for the heck of it, I got up at 5 AM one morning, and photographed the pre-dawn stillness on the lake, and then the changing colors of clouds above the lake as the sun slowly rose up to peek over the top of the mountains. Unfortunately, I didn't have time to drive down to the Kerr Dam, and I didn't drive all the way around the north end of the lake: I only made it up to Big Fork on the eastern side, and LakeSide on the western side of the lake. I was going to take the half-day white-water rafting trip down the Flathead River, south of the dam, but there wasn't time for that, either ... Nor was there any time for fishing, or even to rent a jet-ski and zoom around on the broad expanse of water in Polson Bay, at the south end of the lake.

So maybe there will be ample cause to go back to Polson once again, either next year or the year after. But for now, I've got a visual record of the sights and scenes that I saw on this trip. Roughly half of the photos are 5-image handheld HDR composites, and the other half are more traditional digital images, taken during a sunset boat cruise out on the lake.

Enjoy ...

Wild Horse Island State Park on Flathead Lake in Montana

Flathead Raft Company offers boat trips to the island with time to explore and hike on the island. The island is currently home to 6 wild horses. The newest addition is not so wild, but her momma has other ideas

Glacier Rafting Company

A super fun day on the river at Glacier National Park

Rafting with Montana Raft and Glacier Guides on the Middle Fork of the Flathead River

Rafting on the Middle Fork of the Flathead River is a great family friendly acitvity when visiting Glacier National Park, Montana. This video was taken in July 2011 with Montana Raft Company. Glacier Guides and Montana Raft Company offers hiking, rafting, fishing and lodging in and around Glacier National Park. glacierguides.com 1.800.521.7238

Kootenai

Provides a history of the region surrounding the Kootenai (or Kootenay) River, a major tributary of the Columbia River that flows through British Columbia, Montana and Idaho. Discusses the significance of the river to the Ktunaxa (Kootenai) Indian tribes of the area, as well as its importance to early industrial endeavors such as trapping, mining, logging, and the railroad. Concludes with views of the Libby Dam near Libby, Montana - a United States Army Corps of Engineers-operated structure that was dedicated on August 24, 1975. Produced by Montana Film Productions in 1976. (collection MOV 0021)

The Montana Historical Society is the owner of this film and makes available reproductions for research, publication and other uses. Written permission must be obtained from the MHS Photograph Archives before any reproduction use. The Society does not necessarily hold copyright to all of the materials in the collections. In some cases, permission to use may require seeking additional authorization from the copyright owners.

Battle Horse, Polson, MT

May, 22, 2011

Whitewater Festival, Bigfork Montana 2014

- 2014 Whitewater Festival in Bigfork, MT. Whitewater kayaking on the The Wild Mile is an annual event that also includes raft races, a triathlon, a Stand-Up Paddle Board race, and activities for kids. The whitewater kayack race is held on the Wild Mile outside of Bigfork and this video shows highlights from this year's races.

Learn more about the Bigfork Whitewater Festival, go to

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Polson hosts 7th annual Flathead Lake International Cinemafest

The Flathead Lake International Cinemafest saw its seventh year this weekend.

North Fork FH River Border Float April '15

1350cfs
Border-Polebridge
25miles

Police in Polson

Police still in Town.

Montana from Above - Our Best 5 Amazing Locations from Bitterroot Mountains to Polson (HD)

Montana state - aka Big Sky Country, The Treasure State, Land of the Shining Mountains, The Last Best Place. Visit Libby Dam, Kalispell & Whitefish Mountains. An HD aerial experience - full-length Episode journey of 'The World From Above HD.' Great if you plan to visit or if you want to learn about Montana.

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[990volt Visual] University Party Group M.T

Kayaking North Fork Flathead

A casual Sunday paddle on the North Fork of the Flathead River in Montana. Put in at Blankenship road and take out at Teakettle.

Flathead Lake

In which we flip

We went on a raft trip with Flathead Raft Co. The trip was well worth the adventure and right to storytell for the rest of eternity.

Glacier Park West Glacier Jumping off Belton Bridge on the Flathead River

Everyone wanted to jump off the bridge in West Glacier behind Glacier Raft Company after we rafted the Flathead River.

Bone Crusher, Middle Fork Flathead River, Flathead National Forest, Montana

May 9, 2015

WarCry by WarCry 5.31.2008

WarCry by WarCry at Flathead Raft and Skate, Polson Montana. Ray's Birthday and Basil's Graduation. Buck Morigeau on Guitar and Vocals, Ray Gray on bass guitar, and John Gray on drums.
Check them out on myspace.com/nativewarcry or myspace.com/watchingdystopia